Nancy Pelosi rips up Trump’s State of the Union speech copy

Washington, Feb. 5 (PTI):  In a dramatic gesture, Nancy Pelosi publicly tore up her copy of Donald Trump’s annual State of the Union address, signalling the worsening relationship between the House Speaker and the US President.

Nancy Pelosi has been one of Trump’s fiercest critics and the top Democrat was the one who first launched formal impeachment process in the House of Representatives against the president last year. President Trump has frequently taunted the 79-year-old lawmaker as “Crazy Nancy”.

The mutual snubbing began the moment Trump, seeking re-election, walked into the House chamber on Tuesday night for his third State of the Union address in which he touted his administration’s achievements during the past three years.

It was the first time the two had come face-to-face since she stormed out of a White House meeting four months ago.

On Tuesday night, the sour dynamic was on display to all from the start, The New York Times noted.

The tensions over impeachment appeared to surface early on, however, as Pelosi refused to introduce Trump by saying it was her “distinct honour” and “high privilege” to do so, as is tradition. Instead, she simply introduced him as the President of the United States, Fox News, said to be Trump’s favourite news channel, reported.

When the 73-year-old Republican president stepped up to the rostrum in the House of Representatives and handed her his speech, Pelosi rose and extended her hand to shake his hand. Trump turned his back, and Pelosi quickly withdrew her hand.

The interaction between Trump and Pelosi was one of the most anticipated moments of the president’s appearance at the Capitol before the Senate is expected to acquit him on Wednesday in his impeachment trial, The Times noted.

When the president accused the Democrats of planning to force American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to undocumented immigrants, Pelosi was observed twice mouthing: “Not true.”

Pelosi repeatedly shook her head during Trump’s 78-minute speech which also saw Republican lawmakers chanting, “Four more years!”

The veteran Democrat, the first woman in US history to hold the post of the Speaker, stuck to it until the very end of Trump’s address and then she stood up, picked up her copy of his speech and tore it neatly in half.

“It was a dramatic gesture, caught on camera, that encapsulated a tumultuous year in the relationship between the speaker and the president,” The Washington Post commented.

Pelosi told reporters afterwards her stunning gesture was “the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives”.

She did rise to applaud Trump more than once, including when he promoted his pet project of infrastructure investment.

Later, she tweeted that the “Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople. We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot.”

Meanwhile, the White House hit back at Nancy Pelosi, saying the House Speaker has insulted the Americans honoured in Trump’s speech, from a veteran airman to a premature baby or a mourning military family.

“That’s her legacy”, the White House tweeted.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also criticised Nancy Pelosi, tweeting: Tearing the speech up is not going to tear up the accomplishments of this President.

But Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Senate, said that Trump’s address to Congress was more like his campaign rally than a speech a true leader would give.

America is ‘thriving’ and ‘highly respected again’ under my watch, says Trump

Making a strong pitch for his re-election amidst his impeachment trial, President Donald Trump said that America has staged a “great comeback” and the country was “highly respected again” as he boasted about the “unimaginable” economic growth under his watch.

At his third annual State of the Union address, Trump set out his case for another four years in office, saying that in just three short years, his administration has shattered the mentality of American decline and rejected the downsizing of the country’s destiny.

“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back,” an upbeat Trump said in his 78-minute prime time address to a joint session of Congress.

His address came hours before the ruling Republican Party-led Senate is expected to acquit the 73-year-old president on Wednesday in the high-profile impeachment trial. The Democratic Party-led House of Representatives has already impeached Trump and charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Trump is accused of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to probe his political rival and former US vice president Joe Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to dim his electoral fortune.

The US president said that under his leadership, jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and “our country is thriving and highly respected again.”

“Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise and America’s future is blazing bright,” he added.

Trump underlined the country’s economic gains under his leadership, asserting that “the American Dream is back” and is “stronger than ever before”.

In his report card, Trump asserted that America’s economy is the best it has ever been.

Asserting that the US is moving forward at a pace that was “unimaginable just a short time ago”, Trump, the first president to run for re-election after being impeached, said since his election, his administration has created 7 million new jobs 5 million more than government experts projected during the previous administration.

The unemployment rate is the lowest in over half a century, he claimed while noting that the average unemployment rate under his administration was lower than any administration in America’s history.

“Since my election, United States stock markets have soared 70 per cent, adding more than USD 12 trillion to our nation’s wealth,” he said.

Trump noted that he had promised that he would impose tariffs to confront China’s “massive theft” of American jobs.

“Our strategy worked. Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the USA,” he said.

“For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States, now we have changed that but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with President Xi (Jinping).

Trump said that the US administration is strongly defending the national security and “as we defend American lives, we are working to end America’s wars in the Middle East.”

Stressing that his administration has undertaken unprecedented effort to secure the southern border of the US with Mexico, Trump said that the country “should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans – not criminal aliens.

He said that whosoever coming illegally to the US would be promptly removed.

Trump showered praise on the US military for carrying out a “flawless precision strike” that killed Iran’s military commander Qasem Soleimani and terminated his “evil reign of terror forever.”

“Soleimani was the Iranian regime’s most ruthless butcher, a monster who murdered or wounded thousands of American service members in Iraq,” he said.

“That is why, last month, at my direction, the US military executed a flawless precision strike that killed Soleimani and terminated his evil reign of terror forever,” he said.

Trump said that the peace talks with the Taliban are underway and vowed to bring the US troops back from war-torn Afghanistan.

Disclaimer

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Eastern Mirror and taken directly from news agency feeds.